Delphi by Mia

Longest cable stayed bridge in the world connecting the Peloponnese to the Greek mainland.

After Olympia we went to Delphi, which is supposed to be the center of the world (according to ancient Greek mythology). From the books I had read about it I pictured a nice sunny hill with some ruins and a museum intermixed with lots of olive trees and goats. Also, like most imagined things, the picture in my mind of Delphi has shimmering air, impossible cleanness, and the sky and grass is impossibly bright. The ruins are a lot less ruined and the ground is not really as uphill as it really is. That was before we got to Greece though, and I’m pretty sure that the author of those books had never been either. Anyway, the author’s description and my imagination weren’t quite right. Delphi is a name that conjures up surreal images though, and even when you are there and you think to yourself holy crap I’m in Delphi, you don’t really believe it.

The theatre.

Sanctuary of Athena. See the blotchy columns?

The actual location of Delphi is a lot more dramatic than a little glittery hilltop. The town is actually on the very steep side of Mt Parnassus, kind of like Shimla, India. When you are driving on the roads you have a constant feeling that you are about to fall over the edge and die. It keeps things exciting. The steepness of the hillside makes cross-streets impossible, so there is only one narrow main road zigzagging up the mountain with hotels and shops in between the switchbacks.  The town is mostly made up of hotels, but many of them are closed right now because it is the off season. Since we got there kind of late, daddy got us a hotel room before dinner. From the balcony of the room there were amazing views, especially at sunset which was when we were there. In front of the hillside, there was a valley full of olive trees that went all the way to the ocean. On either side of the valley there are more hills, and over the small bit of Mediterranean there are bigger mountains with snow caps that are easily mistaken for clouds. I can really see how the ancient Greeks thought Delphi was the center of the earth, because you can see everything from that hill! There is ocean, mountains, a valley of olive trees, and sky. Lots of sky.  It’s a really awesome place, and so picturesque that sometimes you actually feel like you are looking at a postcard. 

The Athenian Treasury



Delphi is one of the oldest towns of Greece, and back then it was important for mostly religious reasons. The famous Oracle of Delphi sat in Apollo’s Sanctuary breathing in the fumes of the earth and spouting prophesies that were sent to her from Apollo (god of prophecy, the sun, and a few other random things). The Oracle has a really interesting story. The first ones were young women, but they started running off with the people who came there for advice, so they decided the Oracle had to be at least 50 years old. The Oracle’s job (over 50 or not) was to sit on a tripod over a chasm where some gas came up from the ground. The gas made the woman have seizures and babble incoherently and the priests got to interpret what it was that she said and tell the pilgrim who had consulted her. So, the Oracle was just a normal old woman, and the priests got lots of power. Delphi is also famous because it is the belly button the world. The myth goes that Zeus had two eagles fly towards each other from opposite ends of the earth, and they met in Delphi. You can even see the rock that was supposed to be the actual navel in the museum! So, people came to Delphi on pilgrimages to the Oracle, the belly button, and the Sanctuary of Athena that was there too. Thinking of all the history in one place is really mind blowing, and you end up just not believing you are there at all!

Temple of Apollo

There are two and a half sets of ruins in Delphi. The biggest one is the Sanctuary of Apollo, where the Oracle sat and had seizures, but there is also a sanctuary of Athena, which is a bit smaller, and next to that is the Athenian Gymnasium. It’s sort of part of the sanctuary, but not really so that’s why it’s only half of a ruin. It’s also not that exciting, just a few rows of grey rocks. We skipped the Gymnasium and went to the Sanctuary of Athena first. The Sanctuary was in the middle of a lot of olive trees, which is not surprising because olive trees are everywhere here! The best part of it was a restored part of the tholos, a circular structure that had 20 columns (only three were still there) on top of a stone platform. I’m not sure what it was for, but the drawings of what it was supposed to look like were really pretty. The weird thing about the restored columns was that the old pieces were white and the restored ones were gray! You’d think they would at least attempt to make it look realistic! Now it looks all weird and splotchy. Next to it is the ruins of the Temple for Athena, but only the foundations are still standing. I liked that there were drawings of how it was supposed to have looked like on signs. It made it a bit more interesting!

Naxian Sphinx in the Delphi museum.

Next we hit the Sanctuary of Apollo which was spread out over the hillside instead of on a flat terrace like Athena’s. We got quite a work out walking all the way up from the street to the stadium that was at the top. It was good that we stopped a lot to look at thing on the way up! The first thing we walked past was lots of treasuries from lots of different ancient city states. That has been a common thing in all the religious places we have been-- they liked to have buildings full of treasure as donations to the gods so they would stay in the good books. Then we walked past a few alters and came to the remains of the Temple to Apollo. There were still a few columns left, and it was pretty cool. The most preserved thing there was the Athenian Treasury that was just past the temple. It was still mostly intact, except for the roof which wasn’t there anymore. I bet it wasn’t at all remarkable back when everything else was there, but now anything that is still standing is incredible! We kept walking up to the theatre and then the stadium on top. I have no idea why they put the stadium on top! You have to hike all the way up there before a race! I guess it’s the warm up. After the ruins we ate the best gyros ever for lunch and then headed to the museum that had all the stuff they pulled out of the ruins. There were lots of statues and friezes from the temples and they had the carved rock that marked the center of the earth. I think they should have left it where it was! Now no one knows where the belly button is supposed to be!

It was really amazing to be in Delphi because of how old and famous it was. It was in a beautiful location that really worked as the center of the world, with views of the ocean, mountains, lots of sky, and olive trees in the valley. The history is interesting and the ruins were nice. The museum was really cool and the belly button of the world was really funny! I like how there were cool stories that went along with the place. All the history and age made it a bit hard to comprehend that we were actually there, in Delphi, where millions of people had flocked to thousands of years before to hear the babbling of the Oracle. The actual place was much nicer than any glittery hilltop that my imagination could make up, though!